New Brighton-based Cardiovascular Systems Inc. has appointed Rhonda Robb as its new chief operating officer.

Robb is joining CSI from med-tech giant Medtronic, where she has worked since 1990. Robb most recently served as vice president and general manager of the Heart Valve Therapies business at Medtronic.
 
Robb’s last day with Medtronic is January 25. She starts at CSI on Friday. Medical device company CSI develops and sells systems to treat vascular and coronary disease.
 
Scott Ward, CSI’s chairman, president and CEO, is also a Medtronic veteran. Ward worked at Medtronic from 1981 to 2010, serving as senior vice president and president of Medtronic’s Cardiovascular business from May 2007 to November 2010. CSI appointed Ward as president and CEO in August 2016; he started serving as interim president and CEO in November 2015. Ward has been leading an encouraging turnaround for CSI, posting gains in sales and cutting net losses.
 
Robb replaces Kevin Kenny in the COO role. CSI previously disclosed Kenny’s plans to depart in a November 2017 filing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Kenny has been commuting from California to Minnesota for more than six years.
 
“Rhonda is a dynamic and talented executive with extraordinary experience in driving innovation and growth in medical technology,” said Ward in a statement. “She has the leadership ability, executional strengths and experience to further build CSI, and achieve our ambitious growth goals, as well as guide the expansion of the company’s peripheral and coronary franchises.”
 
For its fiscal 2017, the publicly traded CSI reported $204.9 million in revenue – a 15 percent increase from the previous year. While CSI had a net loss of $1.8 million it was much narrower than the net loss of $56 million that the company reported for fiscal 2016. When it announced fiscal 2017 results in August, CSI projected revenue in the range of $226 million to $233 million for fiscal 2018.
 
In the second quarter of fiscal 2017, CSI reported its first-ever quarterly profit.
 
CSI is slated to announce its second quarter results for fiscal 2018 on February 7.
 
Last year Twin Cities Business named CSI to its list of 20 Companies to Watch.
 
Twin Cities Business also named Ward to its 2017 list of 100 People to Know.